KEY POINTS
- Seabridge Gold refuted Indigenous claims after the Gitxsan Huwilp government withdrew support for its KSM mine in British Columbia.
- The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation says it was not properly consulted on tailings risks, and a June court ruling found the province breached its duty.
- Seabridge shares fell 10 percent on Friday in Toronto after the loss of support.
Seabridge Gold has rejected Indigenous opposition to its KSM gold-copper mine in British Columbia, refuting claims raised after a governing body withdrew its longstanding support for the project.
The pushback came after the Gitxsan Huwilp government, which advocates for the Gitxsan Nation, rescinded support for Seabridge on Thursday. Moreover, the body acted in solidarity with the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation, which argued that provincial regulators failed to consult it properly on the mine.
Consultation dispute deepens
At the heart of the fight sits KSM’s tailings management facility. The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha said the province did not consult it properly on the environmental risks the facility poses to waterways on its traditional territory. Furthermore, British Columbia’s Supreme Court ruled in June that the province breached its constitutional duty, and that decision prompted the wider loss of support.
However, Seabridge pushed back firmly. In a news release, the company said the nation received extensive opportunity, fully funded by Seabridge, for consultation on the facility during the environmental assessment review. Consequently, the two sides now read the same process very differently.
The nation still has room to respond. Specifically, it has until Sept. 28 to submit documentation to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, after which the office will reconsider its decision.
Land rights and market fallout
Seabridge also disputed the claim that the facility sits on the nation’s exclusive territory. According to the company, the Tahltan and the Nisga’a nations also hold treaty rights in the region, and it said insistence on exclusive ownership had strained the relationship.
Nevertheless, the nation’s legal counsel rejected that reading. Ryan Beaton said Seabridge’s position ran contrary to the province’s conclusions, arguing there is little evidentiary merit to competing territorial claims. Additionally, he cited a 2021 ethnographic report and a 2023 provincial letter that backed the nation’s rights and title case.
Meanwhile, investors reacted quickly. Seabridge shares, which had recently climbed on a 100 million dollar credit arrangement, fell 10 percent on Friday morning in Toronto. Ultimately, the standoff leaves one of Canada’s largest undeveloped gold-copper projects facing fresh legal and political uncertainty before regulators revisit the case.
